Method of cutting materials



Patented Apr. 7, 1942 umren sures PATENT OFFl-C Mn'rndh or CUTTING MATERIALS .Jam'es ltIcCashen, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, as-

signoi' to Rotary Cutters, Inc.,Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation oi Ohio V v Application December 23, 1938, Serial No. 247,385

3 Claims.

' This invention relates to the art of cutting materials and isparticularly 'concemed with new and improved method of cutting oil-bearing materials for the purpose of liberating or removing the oil content.

In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic, side elevational view of one form of apparatus embodying the present invention and suitable for use in carrying out the present process;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 3;

Figures 4 and 5 are, respectively, side and edge views of oneform of a suitable, rotatable comminuting member;

Figures 6 and' 7 are corresponding views of another and modified form of comminuting member; and T Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view taken on line 8-8 ofiig. 1.

The apparatus shown in e drawing is generally like thatof United vStates Patent No.

1,738,918. It has a cylinder l which is supported on rollers 2 carried by housing 3, so that the cylinder may rotate about its longitudinal, horizontally disposed axis. The cylinder is rotated by belt 4 which passes around the greater part of the circumference of the cylinder and is actuat'ed by a pulley 5 driven by a belt 6, from motor I. tension on the belt 5.

Within the cylinder is disposed the rotatablecomminuting device generally indicated as an entirety at 9. This device 8 consists preferably of a plurality of discs l0 secured to a. rotatable shaft H, the longitudinal axis of which is horizontal and is disposed adjacentto the downwardly moving side of the cylinder and below a horizontal plane passing through the axis of cylinder I and well to one side of a vertical plane pass- 'ing through the same axis. Preferably, the axis The periphery of device 9 is perferably roughened, for example, as shown at M and it in divert the material from its travel along a cir- Figs. 4,- 5, 6 and '7. It will be noted that the roughening, of discs- In, as shown in these figures, takes the form of teeth, the leading transverse surfaces of which are substantially perpendicu- .lar to th side surfaces of members l0, and that these teeth may extend forwardly from their roots to their tips in the direction of rotation. These teeth may have outwardly converging side surfaces as shown in Fig. 5, or the teeth may have set as in a 'saw and as is shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

A deflector I6 is disposed within cylinder 1 to cular path on the inner surface of the cylinder into contact with the comminuting means 9. The

- deflector shown is triangular in cross section with its apex being uppermost and with its upper and lower outer edges l1 and I8 resting against the inner surface of cylinder I and its inner surface It! making an obtuse angle with the inner surface of cylinder l. Deflector I8 is carried by opposite arms 20 rotatably mounted at their upper ends iii.)

on bolts 2| which project thru slots in brackets 22 secured to housing 3 and blocks 23 which may slide on arcuate guides 24 on brackets 22. The position of deflector to may be adjusted by loosening nuts on bolts 2| and shifting blocks 23 and may be fixed by tightening the nuts. This apparatus permits movement of the deflector away from. the inner surface of cylinder 1 and also permits adjustment of the deflector into positions at different distances from devic .9.

The idler roller 8 maintains the-desired dially.

It will b'e understood that by placing deflector IS in different positions relative to device-9 the material may be deflected so as to strike device @more or less radially or tangentially, or between thes extremes, as desired. It has been found that there is slightlyless heating of the material during the comminuting operation when the material strikes devices substantially tangentially than when it strikes device 9 substantially ra- For example, when cocoa beans are being comminuted the temperature of the material may average about degrees when it strikes device 9 more or less tangentially as compared with about degrees F.; when it strikes more orless radially. However, the speed of comminuting is most rapid when the material is dially.

The apparatus of the device shown in the drawing, operates substantially as follows: When the cylinder I anddevice 9 are 'being rotated clockwise, as indicated, a material to be comminuted is brought into the cylinder I, preferably just above device 9 and between it and the cylinder and will be carried by the cylinder along the circular path of the inner surface of the cylinder. when the material, being so carried by the cylinder 1, comes into contact with deflector It, the material will be deflected-from the circular path of the cylinder and into contact with the roughened surfaces on device 8. These surof low viscosity is quite valuable in the subsequent manufacture of chocolate. Apparently the diiferent viscosities, are traceable to differences in shapes of the small particles, the parfaces, or teeth, will forcibly intercept the thus de-- flected material and will throw it back onto the inner surface of the cylinder. The sizes on particles of material so intercepted will be reduced by the roughened surfaces on device I either b a shearing or breaking operation when the particles strike those surfaces and the edges thereof. Such portions of the material as are not intercepted by the roughened surfaces will pass between members It and will return to the inner surface of the cylinder by reason of their velocity or gravity, or both. Since the material is repeatedly exposed to the air while-passing from the cylinder surface to the device 9 .and back to that surface with violent agitation in the air, it is thoroughly aerated. Such aeration apparently has a beneficial eifect on the comminuted product. It seems to improve the flavor of oils from vegetabl materials.

While the above described apparatus is suitable for-comminuting a wide variety of materials, it is particularly useful in comminuting oilbearing materials from which it is desired to liberate or remove the oil content, such for example, as cocoanut meat, cocoa beans. peanuts,

cotton seeds, palmkernels and in general anyvegetable oil-containing materials.

In employing the apparatus and method of this invention on such materials, it has been found that; when the cylinder was about 54 inches in diameterand was rotated at about 115 R. P. M. and there were about 96 members ill,

each about lfi'inches in diameter and spaced about V and filled the space between the said flanges of the cylinder and were rotated at about ticles comminuted by the present method and apparatus being granular as contrasted with the flattened flake-like particles of prior methods and apparatus. Sugar and/or milk may be added to this "liquor to make a chocolate.

Furthermore, chocolate made from cocoa beans, cut by the present process, has a distinctly different flavor and quality than chocolate obtained from cocoa beans by prior methods.

Many other materials may be reduced to particle sizes from 50 to 60 mesh down to 100 mesh or finer by the above described apparatus and method. For example, cereals such as wheat and oats may be cut with production of particles of substantial uniformity in size and with much less dust, powder or chat! than is possible with prior methods and apparatus. For example,

when cereals having hulls, such aswheat, oats and the like, are comminuted by this method and apparatus, both the hulls and the kernels are reduced to small particle sizes without the I production of a material amount of bran or hull V chaff.

Fromthe foregoing disclosure it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention makes it possible to reduce a wide variety of different materials to particles which are substantially uniform in size and which may range in size from 50 or 60 mesh to 200 mesh;

that such flne particles may be obtained much Y faster and cheaper than has been possible heretofore and without any harmful increase in temperature; and that the flne materials possess new and improved properties not heretofore obtainable by any prior process or apparatus.

2500 R. P. M., about 100 lbs. of dried, shredded rial during the first few, for example three,

minutes of the comminuting operation and is followed by a thin, bluish vapor which. continues to rise during the remainder of the operation.

When the'beans have been reduced to a coarse size, for example possibly 40 or' 50 mesh, the material is dry but as the particles become smaller, oil is liberated and the material includes more and more liquid until, when the J operation is completed, the material contains solids and liquid and has a viscosity of about 28 to 30' on,

a standard, MacMichael torsion wire viscosimeter.

The "chocolate liquor so obtained has a much lower viscosity than the material obtained from the sam kind of beans by prior methods, where the viscosity was about 70 72. This property Having thus described the present invention so that those skilled in the art may be able to understand and practice it, I state that what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of cutting materials which comprises the steps of supporting and moving such material on a smooth cylindrical surface under centrifugal force in a circular vertical path surrounding planar cutting means having thin peripheral cutting edges and rotating in the same direction as, and at right angles to, said material, deflecting such material downwardly and inwardly from said supporting surface and cutting the. deflected unsupported material by intercepting it with the thin peripheral cutting edges of said means. I

2. The method of cutting materials which comprises the steps of supporting and moving such material on a smooth cylindrical surface under centrifugal force in a circular vertical path surrounding planar cutting means rotating in the same direction as, and at right angles to, said material, deflecting the material from said surand traveling at a high velocity by rotating said cutting means at a greater-peripheral speed than the lineal speed of the unsupported material.

3. The method of cutting materials which comprises the steps of supporting and moving such material on a smooth cylindrical surface under centrifugal force in a circular vertical path surrounding rotating planar cutting means, deflecting the material from said surface at a predetermined point and at such an angle that it will intercept the peripheral edges of said means between the vertical radius of said cutting means 5 and a radius of about 60 degrees ahead of said radius, and cutting the material while so unsupported and traveling at high velocity by rotating said cutting means at a greater peripheral speed than the lineal speed of the-unsupported material.

JAMES F. MCCASHEN. 

